Israeli president sends condolences to Azerbaijan over plane crash near Kazakhstan's Aktau

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has expressed condolences to Azerbaijan over the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane near the Kazakh city of Aktau.

In a post on his X page, Herzog said: “I was very saddened by the terrible tragedy of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane from Baku which has crashed near Aktau this morning. I send my deepest condolences to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the people of Azerbaijan, and the families of all nationalities who have lost their loved ones. I pray for the speedy recovery of all those injured,” Caliber.Az reports.

I was very saddened by the terrible tragedy of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane from Baku which has crashed near Aktau this morning. I send my deepest condolences to @PresidentAz Ilham Aliyev, the people of Azerbaijan, and the families of all nationalities who have lost their loved…

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) December 25, 2024

On December 25, the Embraer-190 aircraft, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau while attempting an emergency landing. A total of 67 people were on board, including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. According to AZAL's press service, the passengers included 37 from Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, 6 from Kazakhstan, and 3 from Kyrgyzstan.

Immediately after receiving the information about the crash, President Aliyev, who was en route to St. Petersburg, Russia, to attend an informal CIS heads of state summit, decided to return to Baku to oversee the national response efforts. He expressed deep condolences to the families affected and pledged full support to the survivors.

Following the President's instructions, a high-level delegation has been sent to Aktau to investigate the cause of the crash and provide necessary assistance to the impacted families. The delegation includes officials such as the Minister of Digital Development and Transport, the Minister of Emergency Situations, the Deputy Prosecutor General, the Deputy Minister of Health, the Deputy Director of the State Civil Aviation Agency, and the Vice President of AZAL.

To honour the victims, President Aliyev declared December 26 a national day of mourning in Azerbaijan.